German Bitcoin Selloff: $170M Dumped Amid Market Volatility

In a significant move, German authorities have been unloading substantial amounts of Bitcoin, as on-chain analysis has shown. This latest round of selling comes on the heels of a previous sale of approximately $170 million worth of Bitcoin last week.

Recently, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) made a notable transfer of 400 BTC, roughly valued at $25 million, to major cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Kraken. Additionally, another 500 BTC, valued at over $30 million, was sent to an unknown address, as reported by blockchain monitoring service Arkham.

These sales are taking place amid a bearish trend in the cryptocurrency market, with Bitcoin trading at around $61,700 at the time of writing. Earlier this week, Bitcoin’s value fell below the critical $60,000 mark multiple times before managing a slight recovery.

This year has been quite a roller coaster for Bitcoin. It surged to an all-time high of $73,797 in March, only to drop to $56,527 in May, before rallying again to above $64,000.

The German government’s recent selloff included a large portion of Bitcoin seized from criminal activities. According to Arkham, around $170 million worth of Bitcoin was moved to exchanges before the latest transfers, with some funds subsequently returned to wallets from exchanges.

Currently, the German government holds 46,359 BTC, worth about $2.8 billion at current prices, Arkham noted on Twitter.

The seized Bitcoin originated from the takedown of the movie piracy website Movie2k.to. In January, German police confiscated 50,000 BTC from the site, marking the largest seizure of Bitcoin by law enforcement in the country’s history.

This extensive liquidation by German authorities, along with substantial outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs and other factors, has contributed to the ongoing downward pressure on cryptocurrency prices.

The cryptocurrency market has been extremely volatile, with liquidations exceeding $300 million on Monday alone. Bitcoin accounted for roughly half of these liquidations, about $150 million, while Ethereum (ETH) saw $66 million in liquidations.

The recent market movements have primarily impacted long positions, leading to forced closures and further price drops. The possibility of additional Bitcoin sales by the German government adds another layer of uncertainty and tension to the already volatile market.